Summer Guide: The South Bay’s Biggest Music Festivals

Kid Cudi headlines with Bone Thugs-N-Harmony, Nas and more at Rock the Bells.

Summer means big music festivals, and this year the South Bay has more than ever. Here are six covering genres from rock to hip-hop, metal, blues and more (go here for a rundown of this summer’s jazz events).

I Love This CityFri-Sat, May 25-26; Shoreline Amphitheatre, Mountain View
Things got a bit confusing when the I Love This City festival moved from AT&T Park in San Francisco to Shoreline in Mountain View. Aside from the now unclear question of what city is getting the love from this new EDM festival, there was some lineup shuffling as well. It worked out well for ravers, especially on Friday, where Dutch DJ Afrojack and Swedish House Mafia head Sebastian Ingrosso were added to the lineup when the festival moved. Friday also features James Murphy of LCD Soundsystem, as well as Duck Sauce, Steve Aoki, Datsik, the Crystal Method, Cut Chemist, Dirtyphonics, Holy Ghost!, AraabMuzik, Borgore, Cookie Monsta and more. Saturday’s bill is topped by Tiesto, David Guetta and Laidback Luke. Doctor P., Excision, Feed Me, Apparat, Kill the Noise, Felix Cartal, Jaguar Skills, Miles the DJ and others will also perform. Festival hours have been extended until 11:30pm each night thanks to the move. There will be three stages, and the festival is now open to ages 16 and over. Anyone who bought a ticket for the festival while it was still at AT&T will receive a special wristband that gets them into reserved seating, and buses will carry earlier ticketholders in SF from The Lot at AT&T to Shoreline and back both days.

BFDJune 2; Shoreline Amphitheatre, Mountain View
Whoever the headliners are from year to year, most of BFD’s coolest offerings are to be found in the Subsonic Tent. This year, Oakland’s Wallpaper play there, as well as San Francisco’s budding girl rap star K. Flay, who killed last year on the local stage. Subsonic Tent mainstays the Limousines of San Jose will do something slightly different this summer, spinning a DJ set. Other tent acts include Knife Party, Dragonette, and AmpLive of the Oakland duo Zion I performing with Eligh. The headliners this year are mostly ’90s soldiers like Jane’s Addiction, Garbage and Cake. However, there is also the Naked and the Famous, who formed in 2008. Sounding eerily like Passion Pit’s long-lost twin band, they made the alt-radio Top 10 in 2010 with “Young Blood.” Fellow indie rockers Silversun Pickups will release their new album, Neck of the Woods, next month. On the Soundcheck Local Band Stage this year are two South Bay bands, the Holdup and Young Science.